


can't sleep cause my mind keeps racing

by thecrescendo



Category: 5 Seconds of Summer (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Neighbors, Explicit Sexual Content, M/M, thats it thats the only tags you get
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-19
Updated: 2015-12-19
Packaged: 2018-05-07 15:48:48
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,583
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5462240
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thecrescendo/pseuds/thecrescendo
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Calum has a problem with his upstairs neighbor and it's keeping him up at night.</p><p>or Calum recently moved into an apartment, Ashton lives above him, and something's been bothering Calum for a week</p>
            </blockquote>





	can't sleep cause my mind keeps racing

**Author's Note:**

  * For [joohonie](https://archiveofourown.org/users/joohonie/gifts).



> I'm a day late posting this but this is dedicated to Ryan. Happy birthday! I know you probably figured out I was making you something for your birthday so here's the one shot I vaguely remember telling you about months ago. I hope you love this as much as I loved writing it.

Calum’s patience was starting to run thin.

It wasn’t as if he hadn’t tried to think of reasons why this had to happen to him because he had. He even considered the possibility that he was evil in his past life. So far, that was the only reason that made the most sense to him. He doesn’t deserve this torture at all.

Since he was little, his mother always mentioned how much of a heavy sleeper he was. During days where he slept the deepest, it would take his mother approximately 20 minutes to get him to wake up. He even remembered priding himself that he can sleep through the loudest of noises, even construction work.

Unfortunately, what he’s faced with now doesn’t even come close to being as terrible as construction work. It wasn’t even the volume that was bothering him.

He knew he should’ve done a more thorough neighbor check before he signed the lease. He had been too blindsided by his luck to remember that neighbors are inevitably gonna be on his radar. In his defense, the unit he got was magnificent. It had all the essentials and it was within his budget. How could he let that kind of opportunity pass?

It took him a week to realize that it was too good to be true. At least now he knew that no place is perfect to live in.

He had been lying on his bed for hours and he still hasn’t gotten an ounce of sleep. His sheets were everywhere since he’d been tossing and turning all night to find a comfortable position. Frustrated was an understatement.

He could just go up to his neighbor but he still wasn't sure what he can and cannot do, considering he had just been living in the building for a week or so. While entertaining that thought, he ended up thinking about what kind of neighbor he’d meet when and if he ever got the balls to get up there. He hasn't gone to meet most of his neighbors yet, mostly just the people from the first floor and this weird couple who lived right across the hall from him.

Another sound from above his room broke his train of thought. Calum groaned as he turned on his side and grabbed a pillow to press against his ear, trying to block the sound that he interpreted as mocking.

Why couldn't it just have been loud sex that kept him awake? That would have been easier to deal with and he could actually sleep through that. Why does it have to be from the unit above him where not only sound but also movement can be heard?

He groaned again before looking at his bedside clock. 3:44 was clear in green neon lights, staring back at him and reminding him that he should be up in about 4 hours.

As soon as the movement from upstairs ceased, silence filled the room and Calum sighed in relief. He deserved silence hours ago but he’ll take what he can get.

It didn’t even feel like an hour before his alarm went off. He pushed himself reluctantly out of his bed and tried to look as decent as possible before he got to work. At least it seemed as if that day was in his favor since he still had 10 minutes to spare when he arrived at work.

Due to his lack of rest, he fell asleep approximately four times during his shift. Considering he did have a boring job, it wasn't unusual for him to feel sleepy but now he couldn't stop his head from lulling every time he managed to sit down.

"What's the matter with you?" One of his co-workers asked, shaking Calum’s shoulder to perk him up.

Calum's head shot up from surprise then he turned to glare at his co-worker. "Thanks for the heart attack, Luke. Not that I needed to live or anything," he said, pushing Luke's hand away.

"Someone’s crotchety,” Luke teased as he took the closest seat next to Calum. “Is it still the same problem?"

"It's fucking unbelievable!" Calum exclaimed, throwing his hands in the air. Barely anyone was in the shop so he and Calum could properly converse for a while. "I know they have no idea I’m suffering but they should’ve known the neighbors could hear, right? Seriously! I just want some peace of mind, I'm not asking for much."

Luke nodded in understanding. "I've been telling you since you moved in that you need to get your ass to knock on that door no matter who you might think would open the door," Luke said and Calum knew he was right. He had known his colleague was right since the first time he heard it. He seriously just doesn't have the courage for confrontation.

Calum leaned his forehead against the table, too tired to even argue. His eyes slipped shut again and Luke must've not bothered him further because the next time he woke up, his shift was over.

"You're lucky the boss didn’t bother coming in today, you would've been fired," Luke teased as they were changing back to their normal clothes.

"Yeah, yeah," was Calum's response. When his things were ready, he turned to face Luke. "Hypothetically speaking, if I were to knock on their door when I get home later, what should I say?" He couldn't just start pounding on his neighbor's door, he was raised better than that.

"Well, do you know who they are?"

Calum thought for a while, trying to pair up the faces to their unit numbers. "I don't think so. I've never met anyone in the floors above me."

Luke nodded, seeming to think about Calum's course of action. "Just be straight to the point, I guess. Your intention is simple and I doubt you'll be able to avoid saying it as soon as they open the door."

"Fine, whatever. I hate it when you’re right. I just hope it goes well."

Throughout his 30-minute drive back to his apartment, he'd been trying to construct and phrase whatever he needed to say to his neighbor. From all the pointers he'd been reminding himself, he should've gotten notecards to remember them.

When he arrived at the building, he didn't even bother leaving his things at his place first and just went straight to the unit above him.

He knocked lightly; hoping well that his neighbor was home and his sudden surge of courage wouldn’t go to waste.

It took a few seconds before he heard clawing at the door and he felt like he was being mocked again. Of course that would be what greeted him.

Not long after, the door swung open and he was met with a dazzling smile and dark blond hair tied in a bun.

"Hey," his neighbor greeted, smiling wider and making his dimples much more obvious.

The other man's smile was infectious as Calum found himself smiling back widely. "Hey, I'm Calum," he said, holding his hand out to be shook. "I live in the unit below you," he added.

His neighbor took his hand and shook it firmly before responding. "I'm Ashton." Calum saw Ashton's expression change drastically when he must've figured out what Calum's intentions were.

"Oh shit, I am so sorry," Ashton said, one of his hands already rubbing his forehead. "I was gone the whole day yesterday and she was hyped when I finally got home. God, did the noise wake you up?" As if on cue, the dog appeared between Ashton and the door as soon as he stopped talking.

Calum immediately raised his hands in front of him, shaking it wildly. "No, no, it's absolutely fine. I'm not mad at the noise, honestly," he said and Ashton couldn't help but look confused.

"I don't understand. Why are you here, then?" Ashton asked, stepping further inside as he gestured Calum to follow him. "How about you come inside?"

Calum nodded as he followed Ashton in. As he walked, he could already feel the dog assessing his presence.

"Want me to get you something to drink?"

Calum shook his head. "I'm fine," he answered before sitting down on the couch.

"Alright," Ashton said, sitting down next to him. "This is not like a welcome to the building kind of thing, right? Because I'm pretty sure it should be the other way around," he joked, earning a fond smile from Calum. “Really, though, I’m so sorry for the noise.”

"No, no. I'm not mad at the noise, I'm more, um, bothered by it."

"Oh," Ashton said, his eyes losing a bit of sparkle it had earlier.

Calum was already mentally slapping himself for not sticking to his plan. He wasn't being straight to the point at all. He took a deep breath before speaking up. "It's bothering me because, you know, it's just," Calum started, his face scrunching up in frustration. "Can I pet her?"

Ashton's head cocked to the side, both surprised and amused at Calum's words. "You came up here because you wanted to pet my dog?"

"Yeah?" Calum said, making it sound more of a question than a statement.

"So you're not mad that the noise kept you up last night?" Ashton asked with a grin.

Calum shook his head again. "I can sleep through the noise,” he started. “I couldn't sleep because of the pressing thought that there's a dog within range and I wanted to meet them so badly," he explained, his cheeks heating up at his confession.

Ashton couldn't help but smile at what he just found out. He chuckled before he looked around to see where his dog had gone. "Indie!" he shouted, hoping his dog would respond immediately.

The dog appeared behind Ashton, making Calum smile as he looked at the dog. Ashton wrapped an arm around the dog's neck and pulled it in for a short hug, pressing his lips against her head. When Ashton pulled away from the dog, he looked at Calum. "So are you gonna make a move or what?"

"Oh!" Calum said, immediately pushing himself forward and knelt in front of the dog. "Hi Indie," he cooed, pressing his nose against the dog's while scratching the back of her ears. He looked up and saw how fast the dog’s tail was moving. He turned to Ashton. "She likes me," he said proudly.

"Seems like she does," he said as Calum continued to pet his dog. "She takes time warming up to people, I'm impressed." By then, Calum was already sat on the ground with Indie's head on his lap.

"You have no idea what I'm capable of." Calum continued to rub the top of the dog's head, her eyes already slowly drooping.

"Cesar Millan better watch out then," Ashton joked, admiring the scene before him. While Calum kept his attention on Indie, Ashton looked up at the clock behind him. When he saw that it was almost 7, he turned back to Calum. "Hey, wanna stay for dinner?"

Before Calum could answer, Indie seemed to hum in agreement. Calum couldn't help but laugh as he thought of the parallel from Mulan and it was probably Indie's way to ask Calum to stay forever.

"Why are you laughing?" Ashton asked.

Calum shook his head, thinking better than to voice his idea out loud. Instead he answered Ashton's first question. "I'd love to stay for dinner."

At the second mention of dinner, Indie ran to the kitchen. Ashton walked up to him and offered his hand. Calum gladly took it as he pulled himself upward. They stood there and held each other's gaze for a while, both of them with small smiles. The moment was broken when they heard Indie bark. Ashton laughed and walked to the kitchen.

Calum's cheeks were already starting to hurt at how much he was smiling since he got there. Happy and contented with his decision to finally confront his neighbor, he followed Ashton. "So, what are we having?"

Ashton was rummaging through his cupboards when Calum reached the kitchen. “Any allergies?” Ashton asked as he started pulling pans out. “I was planning to just cook some spaghetti, is that alright?”

“Of course. I love spaghetti,” Calum answered, taking a seat overlooking Ashton. “Do I just sit here and watch you cook or do your guests usually have a routine while waiting?” he added, feeling awkward to the idea of him simply waiting for Ashton to finish.

His neighbor’s response was a chuckle and a shake of his head. “Did you forget the reason you came knocking on my door in the first place?” he asked as he turned to face Calum. With a smirk, he pointed at Indie patiently waiting by her food bowl. “You can play with the dog.”

“I wouldn’t want to disturb her, it seems like it’s programmed for her to sit there while watching you cook,” Calum observed but he still stood up and walked over to the dog.

In just under an hour of meeting, he was already whipped. For the dog or for Ashton, he still hasn’t figured out. Both, most likely.

When Calum knelt in front of her again, they stared at each other for a while before Indie ran off. “What was up with that?” Calum asked.

With a shrug, Ashton said, “dunno, must’ve remembered something.”

“Like what?”

“Maybe she wants you to follow her,” Ashton responded, already starting to add salt to the water.

“Alright.”

Calum stood up and tried to see where the dog had gone. When he saw that the only place Indie could’ve gone was Ashton’s bedroom, he yelled back at him. “She went in your room,” he started, slowly inching closer to the room. “I don’t know if it’s --”

But Calum didn’t have a chance to finish his sentence as Ashton answered him promptly. “Yeah, sure, go ahead. It’s a good thing I cleaned up last night.”

With Ashton’s approval, he stepped into the bedroom and Indie was already by the end of the bed, looking up at Calum expectantly. Both him and the dog sat in silence and Calum took that time to look around the room. It was nothing out of the ordinary, it was a simple room. There were clothes stacked in a chair and a section dedicated for photos of Ashton with his friends and family.

As he waited with Indie, he kept his hand on top of her head, rubbing gently as Indie kept keening to his touch. “Indie,” Calum said softly and he couldn’t help but smile when the dog reacted immediately, turning to him and trying to bump her nose against Calum’s chin. “You kept me up for a week, did you know that?”

He wasn’t expecting a response but he took Indie’s soft bark as an answer. After laughing, he continued talking. “I almost got fired today ‘cause I was up all night, wanting to meet you.” He gave the dog an Eskimo kiss. “Didn’t know I’d end up meeting your owner, though. That was a great outcome.”

Calum scoffed at himself as he leaned his forehead against the dog’s head. “I’m talking to a dog,” he said to no one in particular.

“Hmmm, that you are.”

“How long have you been there?” Calum asked, quickly scrambling away from Indie.

“What? Were you confessing your deep dark secrets to Indie?” Ashton joked, raising his eyebrow. “Don’t worry, man, I just got here. Figured I’d tell you dinner’s almost ready.”

With a sigh of relief, Calum got off the floor and patted Indie’s head. “Come on girl, let’s go.”

“This feels awfully domestic,” Calum joked while they were in the middle of eating. Ashton was already on his second plate but Calum was a little hesitant to eat more.

Ashton hummed in agreement, wiping the corners of his mouth with his index finger and thumb. “How was work, darling?” Ashton supplied, fueling Calum’s comment.

Calum clenched his jaw, fighting the feeling of kissing Ashton. “Terrible,” he said instead, shaking his head. “Neighbor’s dog kept me up. Barely had any sleep so I fell asleep at work.”

“Poor thing,” Ashton teased. “Well, you can sleep in for tomorrow. You deserve it, babe” he added. Calum didn’t want to put any meaning behind the words. He knew they were playful. Although he couldn’t exactly stop the feeling that Ashton was serious about letting him sleep in.

His feelings needed to chill.

“Thank you, dear, much appreciated,” Calum managed to reply.

The conversation was normal for the rest of the dinner and they were done in no time. “That was lovely,” Calum said, already pushing his chair away from the table. “Hands down the best dinner I’ve had in awhile. Well, considering I haven’t had a home cooked meal for weeks,” he added as he picked up his plate and placed it in the sink.

Ashton copied his actions and followed Calum, who was already on his way to the door. “You’re always welcome to come for dinner. Indie and I get lonely sometimes, we’d love the company,” Ashton said, patting Calum’s shoulder.

“Make sure you’re serious. One day I’m gonna randomly knock on your door because I forgot to buy dinner for myself,” Calum taunted, raising his eyebrows. “In any case, I think you’ve had enough company for tonight. I should head home,” he added, already walking towards his discarded things.

Before he got to pick up his bag, he felt Ashton’s hand on his wrist. “Wait,” Ashton said, gently pulling Calum towards him.

They stood face to face, like they had earlier, but the atmosphere felt thicker and the connection was deeper when they looked at each other’s eyes. It only broke when Ashton’s eyes trailed down to Calum’s lips.

“I’m gonna take a wild guess and say you don’t really want me to leave yet,” Calum teased and Ashton’s eyes were back on his.

“Was I too obvious?” After talking, Ashton didn’t hesitate to bridge the gap and connect his lips to Calum’s. His hands instantly cupped Calum’s cheeks and Calum’s hands gripped the sides of Ashton’s shirt to pull him closer.

It continued as just sliding of lips for a while before Ashton pulled away and starting kissing down Calum’s jaw. “I was afraid I was reading the signs wrong,” he said, humming against Calum’s neck. “I caught a glimpse of you by the mailboxes a few days ago. Thought you were hot as fuck,” he added while his hands trailed down the expanse of Calum’s back.

Calum couldn’t respond verbally so he opted to shrugging the shoulder Ashton was resting against, trying to tell him to get his lips back on his. Luckily, Ashton complied. He took the opportunity to slide his tongue in Calum’s mouth when the dark haired boy gasped because Ashton’s hands moved to the front of his pants.

Calum’s hips bucked against Ashton’s hand, his moan muffled by Ashton’s lips still on his. “B-bedroom,” he whimpered, his voice barely above a whisper and his breaths heavy.

“Mmm, yeah, yeah, just,” Ashton said, attaching his lips back on Calum’s. He started walking backwards, pulling Calum along with him.

As soon as they were in the bedroom, Calum closed the door behind him and turned them both around, pushing Ashton against the door. “Take your shirt off,” he whispered, reluctantly pulling away from Ashton as they both took off their shirts.

Ashton’s eyes traveled down Calum’s torso, admiring the barely visible sheen of sweat against Calum’s skin. He took one of his hands and traced Calum’s collarbone with his finger. His finger continued the path downwards until it reached the top of Calum’s jeans. Both their breaths hitched and the hunger in Ashton’s eyes intensified.

In one swift motion, Ashton’s hands were against Calum’s shoulders and he was against the door with Ashton already on his knees. “Is this alright?” Ashton asked, his hands ghosting above the hem of Calum’s jeans.

“Yeah, yeah, fuck yeah,” Calum responded, his voice already fucked out and his hands resting on Ashton’s head.

Ashton kept kissing his hipbone while his fingers fumbled with the zipper. Calum closed his eyes and leaned his head back, feeling both his pants and boxers being pulled down. The warmth of Ashton’s hand, pumping him slowly as he kissed Calum’s thighs, immediately replaced the cold feeling that passed by the head of his cock.

He leaned his head further back, softly thumping against the door. Ashton carefully licked a stripe on the underside of his cock before he started sucking on the head, his tongue lapping up the slit every time he came up.

“Stop teasing,” Calum said, gently bucking his hips forward. Fortunately, Ashton took pity on him and wrapped his lips around him, slowly taking more and more in. He compensated what he couldn’t take in by gripping the base and moving his hand in time with the bobs of his head.

With Ashton’s hair still tied in a bun, Calum struggled to get a grip on anything while Ashton’s movements became faster. It was taking Calum a lot of energy to keep from bucking his hips further into Ashton’s mouth. When he couldn’t hold on longer, he tried pushing Ashton off of him.

“Come up here,” he commanded, his eyes following Ashton kissing up his torso. Before their lips connected once more, he whispered, “wanna fuck you.”

Ashton smirked, kissing Calum once before his lips hovered by Calum’s ear. “Yeah?” he asked, feeling Calum nod. “Well, I wanna ride you,” he whispered back, eliciting a groan from Calum. “You’d like that, won’t you? Me doing all the work while you just lay there looking exactly like sin?” he added, already pulling Calum towards the bed.

“You’re gonna be the death of me,” Calum whimpered, kicking his pants away. Ashton smirked at him and pushed him to go ahead on the bed. He sat down with his back against the headboard, slowly pumping his cock while waiting for Ashton to come back.

When Ashton came back to his line of sight, he was already out of his pants and he held onto the lube and condom. Ashton sat in front of him and spread his legs. Calum couldn’t help but feel more aroused at the sight.

Next thing Calum knew, Ashton was pushing a finger in himself. “Stay there,” Ashton said when Calum looked up at his face. “And stop touching yourself,” he commanded as he pushed another finger in. Ashton was filling the room with soft whimpers and Calum had to bite his lip so he wouldn’t come just from watching Ashton finger himself.

Calum was beyond turned on and he internally cheered when it seemed like Ashton had stretched himself enough. Ashton crawled towards his seated frame, his eyes clouded with nothing but lust.

“You sure you wanna do this?” Ashton asked, placing both hands on Calum’s biceps.

“More than anything,” was Calum’s response before he kissed Ashton, deepening it quickly. “Come on, wanna be in you already,” he added. He pulled Ashton’s hips down, their cocks brushing and making them both emit a soft moan.

Ashton blindly tried to look for the condom on the bed, not wanting to detach his lips from Calum’s body while grinding down on him. He pulled back once he found it, sitting on Calum’s thighs. Once he had rolled the condom on, he lubed up Calum’s cock, pumping it once again.

“Ashton,” Calum whined when Ashton was focusing more on pumping Calum than preparing to ride him.

Ashton finally rose up, aligning Calum’s erection to his entrance. Slowly, he pushed down, taking more of Calum in. He paused for a while once his ass cheeks met Calum’s hips.

“Are you okay?” Calum asked but Ashton was breathing too heavily to respond. He took that time to admire what was in front of him. This gorgeous man he met a few hours ago was naked and was being fucked by Calum, all due to the fact that Calum wanted to meet his dog. He made a mental note to pamper Indie before he left.

His train of thought was cut off when Ashton started to move up and down. He couldn’t help but moan loudly at the pace Ashton was at. It was slow and Calum never liked slow but Ashton seemed to make it so desirable. One of his hands gripped tightly on Ashton’s hips as he tried to meet Ashton’s movements.

The slow pace didn’t stay satisfying for long. Once they were moving at the same tempo, Calum started to thrust faster and Ashton moved forward to bite on Calum’s shoulder. Both of their moans echoed in the room as Calum’s back arched when he realized Ashton started sucking a mark on his neck.

“God, you’re so fucking good at this,” Calum commented, spreading kisses against any part of Ashton’s body he can reach. One of his hands moved between them, wrapping around Ashton’s neglected cock.

“No,” was Ashton’s broken sounding protest.

“Don’t you want to --”

“Only you.”

Calum groaned, fighting the urge to flip them and trap Ashton under him. “Fuck, you’re killing me,” he responded, feeling one of Ashton’s hands grip the back of his head. “That’s so hot.”

“I’m so close,” he added, his nails scraping Ashton’s lower back. He felt Ashton tightening around him, making it harder for him to hold on.

Ashton replied with a half-hearted nod. “Me too,” he said, pulling away from the crook of Calum’s neck to press his forehead against Calum’s. “Want you to come first,” he added, speeding his movements further. He pushed his chest away from Calum, keeping his hands pressed against Calum’s torso to make it easier for his body to move up and down.

After a few thrusts, Calum felt his orgasm up to his toes. Ashton took a few more bobs before he came and made a mess between their bodies. Their moans reverberated against the walls and they gradually turned into deep breaths.

Slowly Calum pulled out of Ashton and took the condom off, tying the end before tossing it to the bin he spotted earlier that night. Ashton kissed Calum’s collarbones before he reached on the side of the bed for anything to use to wipe their bodies. After getting them as clean as they could get, Ashton settled himself on Calum once again.

“You didn’t just fuck me to get closer to my dog, right?” Ashton teased, resting his chin on a hand right above Calum’s heart.

“Don’t get me wrong, Indie is a great dog,” Calum answered, his hand cupping Ashton’s cheek. “And she’s the reason I went up here but honestly, knowing you’re her owner, Indie is just a bonus now,” he added, pulling Ashton for another kiss.

Ashton hummed against Calum’s lips before pulling away. “This isn’t just a one time thing, right?”

Calum couldn’t help but smile fondly at Ashton. “‘Course not,” Calum said, tracing patterns on Ashton’s back. “I did just get the approval from your dog. Isn’t that the thing that seals the deal or something that I’m stuck with you now?”

“Good,” Ashton said, snuggling further against Calum’s neck. “Can’t believe Indie kinda played cupid for us.”

“Thank God for Indie.”

“Yeah but enough talk,” Ashton advised, pulling the blanket over them. “I was serious about making you sleep in so you better sleep right now.”

Calum tightened his hold on Ashton, sighing in content. “Good night.”

**Author's Note:**

> Comments and kudos are like warm hugs. [Here](http://thnksfrthmxn.tumblr.com/post/135511047151/cant-sleep-cause-my-mind-keeps-racing) is a link if you wanna share this on tumblr. Come talk to me there too if you want!


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